Apparatus for manufacturing light weight building boards



April 25, 1967 J. VAN ELTEN APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING LIGHT WEIGHTBUILDING BOARDS Filed Jan.

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Wyn/r04 G.J.Vc1n 5/1160 ATTOKNEBS April 25, 1967 G. J.VAN ELTEN APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING LIGHT WEIGHT BUILDING BOARDS 4Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 28, 1964 /NVEN70/P G]. van E/ Qn A ril 25,1967 G. J. VAN ELTEN 3,315,304

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING LIGHT WEIGHT BUILDING BOARDS Filed Jan. 28,1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 ATT RNEBS April 25, 1967 G. J. VAN ELTEN APPARATUSFOR MANUFACTURING LIGHT WEIGHT BUILDING BOARDS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FiledJan. 28, 1964 lzvrswraP (3.]. van E/ten BE) afiwi g ATTGRNE'SS UnitedStates Patent 3,315,304 APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING LIGHT WEIGHTBUILDING BOARDS Gerrit Jan van Elten, Tromplaan 1, Voorthnizen,Netherlands Filed Jan. 28, 1964, Ser. No. 340,654 Claims priority,application Germany, Jan. 30, 1963,

E 24,255 9 Claims. (Cl. 184) The present invention is related to anapparatus for manufacturing light weight building boards, and moreparticularly to stacking and pressing light weight building boards ofwood wool mixed with a binding agent.

Light weight building boards of the type described are manufactured bymixing wood wool and binding agent, such as cement, and filling themixtureinto moulds. The moulds are arranged in contiguity with oneanother, and at their joining points, the wood wool mixture is cut intopieces of boards. The moulds, each containing a board, are piled up,compressed in a press and stored under pressure until the setting of thecement is completed.

The longitudinal edges of the moulds are provided with side rims, whichmay be rigidly fastened to the moulds, movably mounted on the moulds orlaid against the moulds in loose connection. The conventional pressingdevices in use for these moulds have shown to be disadvantageous as theside rims, when the mould is introduced into the press, may easily bedamaged by the press power, or, where the loose rims are applied, a burrmay occur between the rim and bottom of mould. This impairs the qualityof the building board and makes it necessary to remove the burrs in aseparate working process, involving cost and labor.

It is an important object of the invention to provide apparatus by whichthe moulds enclosing the light weight building boards are introducedinto and piled up inside the press in such a manner that damage or wearof the side rims is avoided.

A further object is to provide apparatus in which formation of burrs, atthe longitudinal edges of the building boards, piled up and compressedin the press, is eliminated.

Another object is to supply an apparatus by which the method accordingto the invention can be carried out.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the followingdescription of two exemplary embodiments of the apparatus according tothe invention, which are shown in the drawing.

In the drawing, which is a simplified presentation,

FIG. 1 is .an end view illustrating a press for moulds of rigid siderims in accordance with the instant invention and in the position ofintroduction of a new mould;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the lower part of the press of FIG. 1showing a new mould being introduced;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the lower part of the press as in FIG. 2but showing another stage of operation;

FIG. 4 is an end view of a press for moulds of loose side rims inaccordance with the instant invention and in the position ofintroduction of a new mould;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial view of FIG. 4 of a part of the apparatusof FIG. 4 but in another stage of operation;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial view of the press of FIG. 4 in a stage ofoperation subsequent to the stage shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is an end view of the press of FIG. 4 showing the presssubsequent to completion of elevation of the mould.

In the apparatus of the instant invention the moulds, piled up insidethe press, are supported on steel plates 14 fastened to the plate.

which extend underneath the longitudinal edges of the bottom plate ofthe lowest mould. As a new mould is moved into position to be added tothe bottom of the pile, the new mould is raised so that its rims areadjacent the steel plates. The steel plates are then withdrawn and thenew mould and the moulds previously piled one on the other in theprocess are lifted to an elevated position just above the steel plates.The steel plates are then returned to their initial position, in whichthey carry the complete pile of moulds.

Where the rims are fastened to the bottom plate of the mould, the steelplates, after the newly arrived mould is raised, are moved inwardlytoward each other and the center of the mould, and thereby push backinto the mould any material extending over the top surface of the rim ofthe newly arrived mould. This procedure eliminates any burrs at thelongitudinal edges of the finished boards. Where loose rims are used onthe moulds, the rims are advanced between steel plates, and a horizontalguide surface of the press structure. The rims are only advanced forpart of their width before the new mould is raised s'uificiently toposition its bottom plate adjacent the lower surface of the rim. Therims are then pushed onto the bottom plate of the mould and compress thematerial on the bottom plate from both sides. Subsequent thereto, thesteel plates are withdrawn from under the rims and an upwardly directedpressure is exerted on the bottom plate of the new mould.

In both cases, the weight of the pile of moulds in the press is carriedby the two lateral steel plates which not only support the pile ofmoulds but also eliminate burrs at the longitudinal edges of the boardsso that subsequent work to remove burrs is unnecessary.

Where loose rims are used the invention is of particular advantage inthat the rims can be moved laterally onto the mould without beingsubjected to the weight of the pile of moulds. The power of motionrequired to move the rims is reduced and the rims are protected fromwear. The force for raising the mould against its [rims may be variedand, preferably, is adjusted in such a ma11- ner that the rims are freefrom play when moved towards the inside of the press between the steelplates. The absence of play insures that burrs will not form.

In carrying out the invention with moulds having rigid side rims, theinvention, according to a preferential embodiment, provides a devicecontaining a steel plate at either side of the press, which is rested ona horizontal supporting surface and is connected by an articulatedconnection to a driving or moving mechanism. Due to the articulatedconnection, the steel plates can be freely suspended and are, in theirraised position, under like pressure from above and below. The steelplates have a certain freedom which allows them to precisely adjust tothe bottom plates of the moulds, no matter whether these are straight orslightly crooked.

The steel plates should be linked, through a switching devicecontrolling their movement, to the drive of the press-table forreceiving and lifting newly arrived moulds. The steel plates andpress-table are preferably operated by pressure force and, with anautomatic control of the drives, the compressing procedure may becarried out without any operating staff. This applies to moulds of bothrigid and loose side rims and in the latter case, the rims may besupplied from a magazine and automatically conveyed to the moulds.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawings in which like parts bear the same reference numerals throughoutthe figures.

In the embodiment of FIGURES 1 to 3, a plurality of finished compressedmoulds 12 are piled up inside press 11, the bottom plates 13 of eachmould having side rims The moulds 12 are piled up on top of one anotherunder the charge of a press ram 15, which is linked with a pressingdevice 16. In lieu of press ram 15, a weighty concrete plate or similarcharging element may be used.

Two steel plates 17 are provided to support the piled used lengths ofboards, either side of press 11 receives two or three hydrauliccylinders 20.

Attached to the side of each of the frames 18 is an electric switch 23having a spring pressed switching bolt 24 held by the spring in contactwith steel plate 17. Switch 23, in a manner later to be described,controls hydraulic driving cylinder 25 of press-table 26, positionedunder press 11. Press table 26 is movable by cylinder 25 in a verticaldirection.

The moulds 12 are, in a filling machine as described in my Patent No.3,096,227, filled with moistened wood wool mixed up with a bindingagent, such as cement, and receive a rough pressing in the fillingmachine. Due to its elasticity, the material of the building boardsre-expands on leaving the filling machine so that it projects above thetwo side rims 14 fastened to bottom plate 13, as can be seen from FIG.1.

Subsequent to their preparatory treatment in the filling machine, moulds12 are conveyed on-to press-table 26, for example by means of a rollerway 27. The moulds canv reach press-table 26 without difiiculty as theother moulds piled up within press 11, in the position shown in FIG. 1,are carried by the steel plates 17.

When the pressing procedure starts, press-table 26 is, by means ofhydraulic cylinder 25, raised sufficiently to bring the rigid rims 14 ofbottom plate 13 of mould 12 on press 26 into contact with the bottomsurfaces of steel plates 17 and raises plates 17 and moulds 12, in press11, from their initial horizontal position of FIG. 1' to a slightlyelevated horizontal position. The slight elevation of plates 17 ispossible because of the horizontal and vertical joints 19 and 21.

In this elevated horizontal position, steel plate 17 is spaced from bolt24 of switch 23, as is shown in FIG. 2, stopping driving cylinder 25 ofpress-table 26. At the same time, switching bolt 24 operates hydrauliccylinders 20, to move steel plates 17 in an inward direction and pushback burr 28, formed in the space between side rim 14 and bottom plate13 of the underrnost mould inside the press because the material of thebuilding board was slightly compressed and some of the material pressedover the edge of rim 14 as the new mould on press-table 26 was elevated.Because of the hydraulic cylinders 20 being in articulated link withparts 22 of the press structure, and the vertical forces on the platesare balanced, the steel plates 17 are under like pressure from above andbelow.

On reaching the position shown in FIG. 3 and after pushing burr 28 backinto the hollow of the mould, the steel plates 17 are retracted from therims 14, and presstable 26 is further elevated by supplying additionalpressure energy to driving cylinder 25 until the bottom plate 13 of thelowermost mould is moved into position above the level of steel plates17. The material of the building board in the lowermost mould iscompressed to the height of rims 14 and at the same time the whole pileof moulds is raised by the height of one mould. After this, the steelplates 17 are returned into their initial position of FIG. 1 belowbottom plate 13 of the mould just raised on presstable 26. Press-table26 is lowered and the whole pile of moulds rests on steel plates 17.Press-table 26 is further lowered into its initial position of FIG. 1 toaccept another mould. v

The moulds piled up in press 11 are under the charge of press ram 15 andpressing device 16. Pressing device 16 may be of a double acting typeoperated by hydraulic force. The pressure exercised by pressing device16 should be regulated so that the presence can be decreased when thepile of moulds inside press 11 is increased. In a simplifiedmodification, press ram 15 is replaced by a weighty plate, and .pressingdevice 16 is of the single acting type.

After the compressing procedure, the pile of moulds is put aside whilethe binding agent is setting, during which time the moulds are kepttogether by clamps or again charged with a weighty plate of concrete, orthe like, so

. that the material of the building boards cannot expand.

The apparatus of the invention is not restricted to moulds with rigidrims. It is equally advantageous in cases where the side rims areslidably mounted upon the moulds. This can be accomplished by holdingthe rims by bolts and providing slots in the rims or moulds for limitedmovement of the rims (not shown). Finally, the rims may be placedwithout any connection upon the edges of the moulds (not shown).Furthermore the rims can be placed upon the moulds only during theprocess of compression. In this case, the filling machine is providedwith an additional device by which the raw material filled into themoulds is restricted to the size of the latter.

An exemplary embodiment of an apparatus designed for compresing mouldsof loose side rims is in its various stages of operation shown inFIGURES 4 to 7.

In this apparatus, the moulds 12 piled up on top of one another in press11 under the charge of the press ram or weighty plate 15, are rested onthe two steel plates 17, connected to driving cylinders 20 through aninterposed magazine box 30 containing loose side rims 31. Magazine box30 is mounted on a U-shaped iron rail 32, which exceeds the length ofside rims 31, and at its end portions rail 32 is supported on the pressstructure. A plurality of horizontal .joints 33, coupled with the pistonrods of hydraulic cylinders 20', is located at the outside wall ofmagazine box 30. By means of their respective vertical joints 21, thehydraulic cylinders 20 are fastened to part 22 of the press structure inthe same manner as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. Below magazine box30, a plurality of hydraulic cylinders 34 are arranged at either side ofthe press. The piston rods of cylinders 34 carry a slide 35-, guided ona horizontal surface 36 below box 30. The surface 36 is adjustable inits height in order that side rims of varied sizes may be fed into thepress.

Press-table 26, together with its hydraulic driving cylinder 25, isarranged below press 11 in the same manner as in the first embodimentshown in FIG. 1 with bearings 37 for conveyor wheels or chains 38, onwhich the moulds coming from the filling machine are supplied topress-table 26.

Referring now to the manner in which the apparatus is operated, themould coming from the filling machine is at first put on press-table 26.The pile of compressed moulds inside press 11 rests on the two steelplates 17,

which are fully advanced into position under the lowermost mould in thepress. From the magazine boxes 30 at either side of the press, a rim 31has been moved partly below steel plates 17 by slide 35 of piston rod34. The position of rims 31 at this stage is shown in FIG. 4. By supplyof pressure energy to hydraulic cylinder 25, press-table 26 is raisedsufiiciently to slightly press bottom plate 13 of the new mould againstthe two rims 31, which are then advanced into their final position onthe mould by actuating hydraulic cylinder 34, whereby the material ofthe building board on the mould is compressed from both sides into thesize intended. There is hardly any verticalpressure straining the rims31 while being advanced, as the weight of the pile of moulds and thepressure of press ram '15' are absorbed by the steel plates 17.Thisenables long useful life of the rims so that their height andstrength after long periods of usage are still much the same as in thebeginning.

Subsequent to the advancement of the rims 31, both the steel plates 17are withdrawn from position under the bottom plate 13 of the lowermostmould in the press to the position shown in FIG. 6. Thereafter, slide 35is retracted, opening magazine box 30 to supply the next rim 31 to thehorizontal surface 36. Press-table 26 is now further elevated until therims 31 touch the bottom plate 13 of the lowermost mould of the pile inpress 11. The material of the building board in the mould on presstable26 is then compressed to the height of rims 31. At the same time, thewhole pile of moulds in press 11 is raised by the height of one mould sothat the bottom plate of the now lowermost mould in press 11 is situatedabove the level of the two steel plates 17, as shown in FIG. 7. Thesteel plates 17 are then returned from their retracted position of FIG.6' to position under the bottom of the now lowermost mould, as shown inFIG. 7. New rims 31, from magazine box 30, fall onto the horizontalsurface 36. Finally, press-table 26 is lowered and the pile of mouldsrests on the steel plates 17 so that the next mould may be moved in fromthe filling machine.

By regulating the supply of energy to hydraulic cylinder 25, thepressure used for raising the moulds can be varied according to theforce needed for compression of the boards, which depends on the boardthickness: thin boards require more pressing power than thick ones.

If a pressing power of 300 kilograms is required to compress thematerial of the building board to its Wanted thickness, the pressingpower of press-table 26 should be adjusted to 400* kilograms. Thepressure exerted on either rim 31 will in this case amount to only 50kilograms as, owing to the interposition of the steel plates 17, therims are relieved from the load of the pile of moulds and of press ramor weight 15. If the steel plates 17 were omitted, either rim 31 wouldbe subject to a pressure of 750 kilograms; namely, 400 kilograms, whichis one half of the weight of the piled up moulds and 500 kilograms whichis one half of the weight 15, minus the counter-pressure of 300kilograms of the material. Considering these figures, it is apparentthat the steel plates provided by the invention essentially relieve theside rims from pressure. Because of this and of the guidance of theupper surface of side rims 31 at the steel plates 17, the upper surfaceof side rims 31 are not subject to any wear and tear. Although the lowersurface of the rims is subject to some wear, this amounts to only 50/750of the wear in conventional construction, and is therefore negligible.Further, the material of the building board is compressed withoutforming a burr so that subsequent removal of the burr and the loss ofraw material connected with it are eliminated.

The supply of the loose side rims 31 may be performed under automaticcontrol, through automatic control of hydraulic cylinders 34, by whichthe rims are pushed in, by a switching device smiliar to .the embodimentof FIG- URES 1 to 3.

It is a particular advantage of the invention that the same apparatusmay be used both for moulds of rigid and of loose side rims. To performthis, the steel plates 17, with their rails 32 and magazine box 30, maybe mounted in the same freely pending way as the embodiment of FIGURES lto 3. Alternatively, the apparatus of FIGURES 4 to 7 may be used formoulds of rigid rims without being altered.

Another modification may be made with respect to the steel plates 17.Steel plates 17 may be guided on a surface adjustable in its height inplace of the rigid frame 18 of the press structure, to make plates 17adjustable to boards of varied thickness. In a preferential embodiment,the adjustable guiding surface is placed in an initial horizontalposition from which it is moved downwards.

In still another variation, the steel plates 17 themselves may beadjustable in their vertical position if the guiding surfaces arerigidly fastened to the press structure.

While I have chosen to illustrate my invention by showing and describingpreferred embodiments of it, I have done so by way of example, as thereare other modifications and adaptations which can be made by thoseskilled in the art and which are fully within the scope of my claims,which are:

1. In the manufacture of light weight building boards, an apparatus fortreating a wood wool-binder mixture carried upon bottom plates of astack of moulds, said apparatus comprising two opposed plates forengaging opposed bottom edges of the lowermost mould of'said stack,means swingably supporting said opposed plates, first hydraulic meansconnected with said swingable means for moving said opposed platestoward and away from each other, a press table located below saidopposed plates, means carried by said press table for receiving anadditional mould, second hydraulic means connected to said press tablefor actuating said press table and said mould receiving means for movingsaid additional mould into engagement with the lowermost mould of saidstack, an adjustable pressing device located above said opposed platesfor engaging the uppermost mould of said stack, means connected with andactuating said first and second hydraulic means for moving saidadditional mould into place of said lowermost mould and for compressingthe wood wool-binder mixture in said additional mould against the bottomof said lowermost mould and means movable in a horizontal directiontowards each other for pushing pressed mixture projecting horizontallyoutward on said additional mould into said mould.

2. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said moulds compriserims fixed to opposed edges of the bottom plates, said opposed platesbeing movable between the rims of the additional mould and the bottomplate of the lowermost mould.

3. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, having loose rims, means forplacing two rims upon opposed edges of the additional mould, and meansfor feeding rims to said placing means.

4. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said moulds compriserims movably carried upon opposed edges of the bottom plates.

5. An apparatus in accordance with claim 4, having means limiting theextent of movement of said rims upon said opposed edges.

6. An apparatus for manufacturing light weight building boardscomprising, a pressing device for receiving and stacking, one on top ofthe other, a plurality of moulds each filled with the material of alight weight building board fed to said pressing device from the bottomof said stack, a first rigid frame on said pressing device, a secondrigid frame on said pressing device spaced from said first rigid framefor receiving a mould filled with the material of a light weightbuilding board therebetween, a first plate movably mounted on said firstrigid frame, a second plate movably mounted on said second rigid frame,drive means articulatedly connecting said first and second plates tosaid first and second rigid frames for moving said plates in ahorizontal direction toward and away from each other for supporting andreleasing said plurality of moulds in said pressing device, and meansunder said pressing device and said moulds stacked therein and undersaid plates for receiving a mould filled with the material of a lightweight building board and for lifting said received mould toward thebottom of the lowermost mould in said pressing device and forcompressing the material of a light weight building board on saidreceiving mould against the bottom of said lowermost mould, meansmovable in a horizontal direction toward each other for pushingcompressed material of a light weight building board projectinghorizontally outward on said receiving mould into said mould, said meansunder said pressing device including means for lifting said receivedmould into contact with the lowermost mould in said stack When saidplates are moved in a horizontal direction away from each other.

7. In an apparatus as recited in claim 6 in which said moulds have rimsfixed at opposite sides of said moulds and said material of a l-ightWeight building board is in said moulds between said rims.

8. In an apparatus as recited in claim 6 in which said moulds stacked insaid pressing device have removable rims at the opposite sides of saidmoulds.

9. In an apparatus as recited in claim 8 in which a rim supplyingmagazine is positioned on each of said rigid frames and means on saidmagazine for feeding a rim from said magazines to the side of saidreceived mould when said received mould is lifted by said receiving andlifting means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Oakley.

Patton et a1 18-4 XR Collins 264-109 Leng.

Linhorst.

Archibold 18-4 Erickson et al 18-4 Chapman 18-4 Schippahk 18-4 Franksson264-109 Muller 18-4 15 WILLIAM J. STEPHENSON, Primary Examiner.

1. IN THE MANUFACUTRE OF LIGHT WEIGHT BUILDING BOARDS, AN APPARRATUS FORTREATING A WOOD WOOL-BINDER MIXTURE CARRIED UPON BOTTOM PLATES OF ASTACK OF MOULDS, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING TWO OPPOSED PLATES FORENGAGING OPPOSED BOTTOM EDGES OF THE LOWERMOST MOULD OF SAID STACK,MEANS SWINGABLY SUPPORTING SAID OPPOSED PLATES, FIRST HYDRAULIC MEANSCONNECTED WITH SAID SWINGABLE MEANS FOR MOVING SAID OPPOSED PLATESTOWARD AND AWAY FROM EACH OTHER, A PRESS TABLE LOCATED BELOW SAIDOPPOSED PLATES, MEANS CARRIED BY SAID JPRESS TABLE FOR RECEIVING ANADDITIONAL MOULD, SECOND HYDRAULIC MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID PRESS TABLEFOR ACTUATING SAID PRESS TABLE AND SAID MOULD RECEIVING MEANS FOR MOVINGSAID ADDITIONAL MOULD INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH THE LOWERMOST MOULD OF SAIDSTACK, AN ADJUSTABLE PRESSING DEVICE LOCATED ABOVE SAID OPPOSED PLATESFOR ENGAGING THE UPPERMOST MOULD OF SAID STACK,